Culture Surfing

If you were to hear opera singer David Daniels’ voice before you saw him perform, you might make a mistaken guess as to his gender. Countertenors such as Daniels sing in a vocal range usually associated with sopranos and other classical female singing styles. Daniels’ renowned approach has redefined the countertenor style for a new generation of opera audiences. The first countertenor to give a solo recital in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall, Daniels sings the role of Orpheus in Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo & Euridice at the Atlanta Opera, Nov. 14, 17, 20 and 22.

How young were you when you began singing as a boy soprano?
I think I remember singing when I was 3 or 4 years old. It was probably more like screaming and driving my older brother crazy. He plays the cello, so he’s the only one in my family who doesn’t sing. My mother was a soprano, my father a baritone, and they both taught voice at Converse College. My mother taught me to sing in my “head voice.” I sang professionally as a boy soprano probably from age 9 to 16. Even though my voice changed, I kept the ability to sing this way as a teenager. Now I’m 43, and I still sing this way.

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(Photo Courtesy the Atlanta Opera)

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DOE EYED: Newcomer Goat mesmerizes audiences and actors alike in his latest film "The Men Who Stare at Goats."

Part PSA and part celeb gnash — be on the lookout for Goat. Goat (last name unknown) is creating buzz among the Hollywood heavyweights with the hilarious scene grabs from A-lister George Clooney in their latest film The Men Who Stare At Goats. While most would illustrate a prejudice toward Goat and his mild mannered ilk, Goat has swayed public opinion of his kind through sheer talent and an inhuman work ethic.

Recently Goat indulged the press with a series of one-on-one e-mail interviews to discuss the film and his newfound celebrity status. Goat fans can follow the actor’s exploits on his Twitter page. Direct messages to Goat via Twitter were unfortunately not returned prior to the interview. The Men Who Stare at Goats opens nationwide Fri., Nov. 6.

With such critical acclaim from your stage performance in Animal Farm, how was the experience for you to leap off the stage and work as an actor in your first feature film?
If I’m being honest the transition was not difficult at all. When you possess real talent, it doesn’t matter whether it’s on the stage, in a film or even in a barnyard somewhere. It’s really about having the ability to bring a character to life and bring joy to an audience. I am just so happy that with this film more people will be able to share in my talent and see what I was born to do.

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(Photo courtesy Overture Films)

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The most hyperbolic possible headline would read “28-Year-Old Canadian Takes Over Dad’s Garage!” to announce the selection of Kevin Gillese as the Inman Park playhouse’s new artistic director. Currently the artistic director of Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Gillese takes the reins at Dad’s in January, following his six-week European tour with Scratch, a long-form improv format he co-developed with Arlen Konopaki. Gillese, who once performed on Dad’s stage while still a teenager, will be the company’s fifth artistic director, following Kate Warner and co-founder Sean Daniels.

How well do you know Dad’s, and how well do you know Atlanta?
I know Dad’s a lot better than I know Atlanta. My first taste of international improv was coming to Dad’s for the World Domination TheatreSports Tournament in 1999. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dad’s at other festivals, and bringing Dad’s up to Canada to work at my festival. During the interviews, they didn’t have to convince me that they were a cool, creative company. I already knew that. The opportunity to work with them was a carrot to me. I know the company quite well, but Atlanta will be a new experience for me.

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(Photo Courtesy Meryl Lawton)

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F. Gary Gray jump-started his career in the early ’90s doing music videos and short films. Since then, the director has stood the test of time as one of the most reputable directors currently out there. Gray has worked with Hollywood A-listers, including Mark Walhberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Donald Sutherland and Kevin Spacey. His most recent film, the cat-and-mouse thriller Law Abiding Citizen, opens Oct. 16. Citizen follows Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) who, feeling betrayed by the judicial system, decides to take justice into his own hands to the dismay of district attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx). Here, Gray discusses the movie, his evolution as a director, and the film industry.

Many of your films, such as Set it Off, Friday, and The Negotiator, share a commonality with Law Abiding Citizen in that they’re very character-driven films. What draws you to these types of movies?
Movies with strong characters are always a draw for me. Characters and story, those are the two most important elements for me to kind of get excited about. With this particular film it was really the concept, the concept of a man taking an entire city hostage from a prison cell was different to me and the character was really inventive and very smart. There was a great chess game between the two, which is the spine of the movie, and the chemistry between the two characters [portrayed by] Gerard and Jamie — I looked forward to putting together with these guys.

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(Photo Courtesy Overture Films)

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HAIR CLUB: Chris Rock and Nia Long discuss Good Hair during a recent press tour for his upcoming documentary.

When Chris Rock’s daughter came home from school asking why she doesn’t have “good hair,” the question set him on a worldwide quest to track down the answer. In his latest project, titled Good Hair, opening in Atlanta Fri., Oct. 9, Rock reveals the origins of the notion of refined hair for blacks and the lengths to which black women, and sometimes men, will go to acquire it. Here, Rock and co-star Nia Long discuss the Good, the bad and the funny.

How do you think growing up in Bed-Stuy impacted your comedic sensibility growing up?
Chris Rock: New York is a funny place — I can only compare it to L.A. … It’s not a funny place. Everybody wants to be in show business in L.A., no matter what — everything revolves around show business. Where in New York, you can go to a good party given by the corrections officers.

Your wife, Malaak, who runs an organization that helps empower women to transition back into the workplace, was missing from the film’s conversation. Why is that?
I have a policy when I’m doing movies or anything to not hire people I can’t fire. So if I filmed her and didn’t like what I got — what am I gonna do, am I going to cut my wife out the movie? No, I’m going to keep it in so I can keep a smooth house. ‘Cause that’s more [important] than anything and then the movie is not as good, and we don’t have anything.

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New York Times best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey doesn’t just write novels based on the drama of loves lost and found. Most recently, he’s been turning out cliffhangers with his Sleeping with Strangers series. His new addition, Resurrecting Midnight, follows international vigilante hit man Gideon as he travels to Argentina to help a former lover and uncover secrets of his past. Dickey discusses his new thriller at the Borders Lithonia on Thurs., Sept. 3, 7 p.m.; the Decatur Book Festival on Sat., Sept. 5, 4:15 p.m.; and Medu Bookstore on Sat., Sept., 12, 2 p.m.

What was your inspiration when creating the story line for the first novel in the series, Sleeping with Strangers?
My deadline. [Laughs] I was trying to create another character — just trying to evolve [Gideon’s] character. I love getting into a different world and he helped me create different characters as the story unfolds. I add and take away from his character; it’s fresh. With Gideon, I didn’t want him to be a familiar character with a different name. It could be challenging, for example, you want to do a-b-c but then you think I did those seven books ago.

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(Photo by Joseph Jones Photography)

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Though notorious as the cursed “Scottish play,” Macbeth has been lucky for Rick Miller. The Canadian actor/comedian’s popular one-man show MacHomer casts the Shakespearean tragedy with about 50 voices from “The Simpsons.” Miller brings MacHomer to Georgia Shakespeare Wed.-Sun., Aug. 26-30. He discusses the show’s cocktail of high and low culture and why casting Barney Gumble as Macduff is more than just a pun on Duff Beer.

Where did the idea come from?
In 1994, I was playing the lowly role of Murderer No. 2 in a theatrical version of Macbeth. I’d done it all summer long, and at the cast party I decided to show off with a 10-minute version called “MacHomer,” imitating the other actors in the show who reminded me of “Simpsons” characters. This was when the show was really starting to take off, and I decided to take it one step further and make it a larger show. Since then, it’s gone through several phases — I think we’re up to MacHomer 5.0 now — since I’ve tinkered with it to make it bigger and better.

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(Photo courtesy WYRD Productions)

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Though best known for her dramatic antics and tell-it-like-it-is attitude on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Nene Leakes has also become a dramatic, tell-it-like-it-is author. Voted Bravo’s A-List winner for Guiltiest Reality Pleasure in 2009, Leakes has been busy recently heading up her Twisted Hearts foundation and promoting her new memoir Never Make the Same Mistake Twice. Never hit shelves Tues., Aug. 11. The spunky reality star speaks out here in anticipation of her author talk and book signing at Borders in Lithonia Aug. 13, 7 p.m.

Did you always aspire to become an author or was it a response to the persona Bravo has presented to its viewers?
I never saw myself as an author. A publishing company reached out to me. I said to myself, “How am I going to write a memoir? Memoirs are usually written by older people. I’m so young and my life is not over yet. I have a lot more life to be livin’.” They told me I could just finish with a continuation. I couldn’t possibly fit everything in about my life. Writing this memoir was was like therapy for me. As I started to write about the resentment I had towards my mother for not raising me and the abuse I endured, I began to think some of it was too much. However, I tell the truth throughout the memoir.

Was there a readership in mind as you were putting the memoir together or where you strictly catering to Housewives viewers?
No. No. I just wanted to write the memoir and tell my story. When I finished, I was sure the book would be great for young women. I wanted women to learn from my experiences. As a young single mother, I was a part of the continuing cycle of women who had gotten pregnant young and were unmarried. Young women can definitely learn from my story.

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(Photo by Derek Blanks)

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Award-winning stand-up comedian Doug Stanhope doesn’t just crack jokes about inflammatory topics like abortion or child pornography, he cracks funny jokes about such material. His uninhibited advocacy for drugs and booze (“Did you ever try to sleep sober? It’s impossible!”) can disguise his rigorous support of individual rights and willingness to attack any religion for “retardation of human intellectual progress.” You may recall Stanhope from telling a filthy joke to a baby in The Aristocrats, co-hosting Comedy Central’s “The Man Show,” or briefly running for U.S. president as the Libertarian Party candidate in 2008. He performs Aug. 8 at Relapse Theatre, and wants the word to get out that the show is BYOB: “Most of my audience are raging alcoholics, so I don’t want them to get the DTs.”

Sometimes you talk about soul-crushing corporate jobs. I was wondering, what was your most boring job?
I had so many. I had jobs that were as short as an hour and a half. One was putting circulars into newspapers, and I worked at it for 90 minutes before I said “I’m going to the bathroom” and never came back. I never spent a lot of time at a boring job. I’d either quit, or I’d try to make it fun and they would try to fire me. When I worked for a collections agency, I’d fuck with people until it became like a Jerky Boys routine. My bosses would tell me, “You’re still supposed to get the money from them.”

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(Photo by Brian Hennigan)

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Stefan Ritter’s hand-thrown bowls and vases are some of the most unpretty pieces of pottery in MudFire Gallery’s Draw + Decal show on view through Aug. 1. “Dunya Akbar,” for example, is a large open bowl covered in various Roman, Arabic, Tibetan and other scripts sitting near the middle of the gallery. Its surface is muddled, splattered in places with something reminiscent of blood. The paint — in radioactive green and corroding rust — is applied in visibly washy strokes. Layer over layer of graffiti, geometric shapes, and quasi-religious images threaten to overwhelm the surface entirely. The combined effect is of some wall in the Gaza Strip or the outskirts of Pretoria, some space that has been contested by the violent clash of cultures and yet miraculously still stands.

Like many artists working in a medium constantly shuttling between craft and fine art, Ritter strives to find ways to poke and prod his audiences when often they’re just expecting pretty salad bowls and flower pots.

“I can tell you that what I’m really looking for is to reach out to people,” says Ritter. “And I don’t mean that in a self-serving way. I think that good, bad, pretty, not pretty — I’m looking for things to be humane. And that’s where [“Dunya Akbar”] was coming from.”

Still, for Ritter the objects he makes can’t be “just art.” Maintaining a tie to the world of functional objects is critical for him. It matters that his cups could be used to drink from even if they likely never will be.

Your background is in architecture, physics and law. How did you get into making pots?
I came to making pots — something that I really was interested in, or just ceramics, making things out of clay — a long, long time ago. When I started practicing law, I was looking for an outlet. Painting sort of seemed like it’d been done … ceramics or throwing pots really seemed interesting. I went to Callanwolde and enrolled in classes there, started doing it, and that was about 20 years ago. And since that time I’ve been throwing pots off and on. A lot of off. Every time I’ve had a kid — and I have three kids — I’ve taken a long break. So, I can’t say I’ve been throwing straight through for 20 years, but off and on for 20 years.

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(Photo by Erik Haagensen)

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Though best known for his explosive and award-winning performance as Ari Gold on HBO’s “Entourage,” Jeremy Piven has a list of film credits to his name longer than Vince’s bankroll for Aquaman. Acting since the age of 8, Piven has appeared in more than 50 films as well as numerous TV series. The accomplished and surprisingly mild-mannered actor’s latest foray is The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, the comedic story of maverick used-car liquidator Don Ready. The Goods, opening Aug. 14, is the latest film from Will Ferrell’s prolific production team, Gary Sanchez Productions.

You have an impressive resume but have, in the past, played mostly secondary characters (boyfriends, best friends, husbands). Now, finally, you play the leading man. Do you feel like dues have been paid?
My life mirrors Don Ready’s in a way — everything I’ve done in my life can contribute to this character. He’s been on the road his whole life; I’ve been working my whole life. You play every role like it’s the lead, and it’s helped now that I have it, but it’s a journey and ultimately you’re an apprentice your entire life. Having said that, I feel like I’m smart enough now to know that you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and with this movie, there couldn’t be a better team of people involved.

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(Image courtesy Paramount Vantage)

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When Ting Ying Han left Taipei, Taiwan, a few years ago to pursue art in the U.S., the 23-year-old left behind more than a city. In many ways, Han also shed her identity as she — and her family and friends — knew it. She gladly shook off the restraints of her rigid Chinese upbringing to freely pursue art and sculpture in Atlanta. But the metamorphosis hasn’t been without its challenges. Han leads a double life of sorts, her family ties becoming increasingly tenuous as more time passes. It’s not a huge surprise, then, that Han’s work fixates on family, objects and spatial relationtionships. “Missing,” her meticulously crafted rice table now on view in Spruill Gallery’s Emerging Artists 2009, is a heartfelt meditation on absence.

Where were you born and when did you come to the U.S.?
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and came here when I was 23. I [wanted to come] here for a long, long time. Actually when I was little, I was told I can come to U.S. for education and my dad refused me to go until I finished a degree in business administration.

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(Photo by Sean Ludwig)

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Aerle Taree has accomplished quite a deal throughout her career. In the early ’90s, Taree won two Grammys and several other prestigious awards with musical group Arrested Development for hits such as “Tennessee.” An avid humanitarian, she supports various charities and foundations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She’s also written four books and recorded a spoken-word album called PoeTaree: All She Wrote. These days, you can find the Atlantan managing her entertainment company Reality Writings Inc., and promoting her new book of poems, PoeTaree: The Jurisprudence of Life.

What was your inspiration for writing PoeTaree: The Jurisprudence of Life?
I was on tour when I wrote this book. I was going through a lot of things. When you’re on tour, it’s the fast life. You travel from city to city constantly. There’s partying and drinking everywhere. And even though I was surrounded by people, I was lonely. People wanted to go out, and party and I was saving money to buy a house. I was moving in a different direction in my life. It was just a reflection of how I was feeling when I was with the group.

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(Photo courtesy Aerle Taree)

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In Kathryn Bigelow’s thrilling war film The Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner creates one of the most iconic characters of 2009. As staff sergeant William James, a bomb disposal expert in 2004 Baghdad, Renner proves macho, heroic and also terrifyingly reckless, even when he wears a protective “bomb suit” that makes him look like a 19th-century deep sea diver. Following starring roles in films such as Dahmer and 28 Weeks Later…, as well as ABC’s short-lived “The Unusuals,” The Hurt Locker is sure to make Renner’s career, well, blow up.

The filming took three months in Amman, Jordan, in summer. How did you prepare for the role, and how did you prepare for the climate?
You can’t really prepare for climate like that. Before we went, Kathryn gave me these brochures that said things like “Jordan! The Dead Sea! Scuba Diving!” We didn’t shoot at those places. The shooting was awful — you can’t escape the sun. I was on the film for about a year before it started, so I had a lot of time for research. I went to Fort Irwin with some other guys and did some military training, mostly with EOD [explosive ordnance disposal]. There were a few experts who allowed me to pick their brain and ask a lot of questions. I was like a sponge. All they did was speak in acronyms, like “HEs.” And I’d be asking “What? Oh, high explosives.”

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(Photo by Greg Gorman/Summit Entertainment)

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